Cal falls to UA gymnasts

The No. 21-ranked Wildcats (4-2 overall, 2-1 Pacific 10 Conference) were aided by the return of senior Kristin McDermott to the all-around. McDermott, who missed last weekend's competition because of illness, scored a 9.600 or higher in every event and finished with meet-high mark of 38.950 in the all-around.

"Kristen came out and did a great job," UA head coach Bill Ryden said. "She has been waiting to have that one big meet where she hits everything and she definitely did."

The Wildcats had three top individual finishes with McDermott's 9.800 on floor, senior Maureen Kealey's 9.875 on bars and senior Heidi Hornbeek's 9.900 on vault. UA sophomore Kara Fry also finished third in the all-around with a 37.775.

The win over California marked the end of a tough three-meet road trip against five teams that saw the Wildcats finish 3-2. Arizona's beam woes had been a main reason for the Wildcats losing in two of the last three meets.

Against Boise State and Washington, the Wildcats only managed a 46.525 and 45.900, respectively. In those two meets, Arizona fell six times on the beam. Saturday, the Wildcats received top beam performances from freshman Randi Liljenquist (9.850), McDermott (9.775) and Fry (9.700). These three helped Arizona record a season high of 47.925 on the beam.

"The efforts on the beam were much better than what we had seen in our past two meets," Ryden said. "It definitely gives us something to build on."

Arizona will return home to McKale Center this Friday when the Wildcats face No. 3 Utah. The meet is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. with Arizona students receiving a free admission with the presentation of a valid Cat Card.